Australian Government abolishes 457 Visas

April 18, 2017

‘Australians must have priority for Australian jobs – so we’re abolishing the 457 visas, the visas that bring temporary foreign workers into our country’ – Malcolm Turnbull.

News about the 457 Visas

The Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he is ‘putting Australians first’ through abolishing 457 visas and giving Australians priority for jobs currently open for overseas workers.

The Australian Government will abolish the 457 visa category and instead, create a new temporary visa category. This new temporary visa shall better address the genuine skill shortages in Australia. Furthermore, it will include new requirements such as work experience and better English language proficiency. The new temporary visa will be particularly designed ‘to recruit the best and brightest in the national interest’.

Malcolm Turnbull announced that a new training fund will be established to provide training for Australians to fill certain skill gaps.

Bill Shorten has previously promised to take measures on the use of the 457 visas. In particular, these measures include strengthening labour market testing, reviewing the list of qualifying jobs and banning certain fast food chains from sponsoring foreign workers.

More about the 457 Visas

The visa is designed to fill job vacancies with overseas skilled workers, for which there are not enough skilled Australian workers. This visa allows holders to bring members of their family to Australia on a 457 secondary visa.

The latest figures from the Australian Immigration Department in September 2016 stated there had been a reduction in 457 visas holders to 95,758. The majority of these visa holders were coming from India, followed by the UK and China.